The Commercial-News, Danville, IL

September 23, 2009

Added protection

STAFF REPORT

DANVILLE — Workers from Downstate Steel Erectors from Catlin erected an overhead pedestrian protective system Wednesday around Bresee Tower.

The protective system displays a sign for Curtis G. Redding Square. Redding was a World War I hero who died in 1919. The town square was named in his honor.

Danville Public Works Director Doug Ahrens said that with another freeze/thaw cycle coming as winter approaches, the pedestrian protective system is another measure to protect the public against any possible falling debris. The temporary strapping measures on the building were to only last about 24 months.

The protective system will run along Main Street and above the current Vermilion County Courthouse annex entrance. Barricades also sit outside the building.

"We continue to track all costs with the hopes (for reimbursement),” Ahrens said.

Bresee Tower owner First Corbin Financial Corp. of Corbin, Ky., has told the city it doesn’t have the ability to pay for a protective covering. The city continues to work with a possible developer for Bresee Tower.